Spurs Weakness

[edgar]

Like last year, the Spurs have failed to adress the power forward and small forward position. This year's Memphis Grizzlies have exploited this weakness by using Darell Arthur. If the Spurs want to avoid last year's early exit they must address this issue.

Last year the Spurs got swept in part due to Channing Frye's super play in the same forward position.

[DesignatedT]

Like last year, the Spurs have failed to adress the power forward and small forward position. This year's Memphis Grizzlies have exploited this weakness by using Darell Arthur. If the Spurs want to avoid last year's early exit they must address this issue.

Last year the Spurs got swept in part due to Channing Frye's super play in the same forward position.

Darrell Arthur was not responsible for this performance tonight. Not even close

[Obstructed_View]

Uh, not having a point guard is probably higher on the list.

[Thomas82]

Uh, not having a point guard is probably higher on the list.

That's a big part of it.

[edgar]

Darrell Arthur is having a field day what are you talking about?!

[edgar]

Uh, not having a point guard is probably higher on the list.

If I remember correctly, the Spurs had a healthy parker against the Suns last year.

[ohmwrecker]

So . . .

[edgar]

Darrell Arthur was not responsible for this performance tonight. Not even close

To add to this rebuttal, rebounding and 2nd chance pts have killed the Spurs tonight. I believe Darrell Arthur is prime suspect number 1 on this matter.

[cd98]

Problem with this game was turnovers. That's what happens when you lose your starting point guard.

[edgar]

I am the first to say, well this game doesn't matter when I know the Spurs didn't seem in sync with things or if its against a non playoff team. But the Grizzlies are a dangerous team and not a team to take lightly. They are our 1st round playoff opponent most likely.

Shall I remind you all that Marc Gasol was ejected?

[xmas1997]

Quinn is having a bad game too.

[Obstructed_View]

Darrell Arthur is having a field day what are you talking about?!

21 points on 19 shots, over half of which came in garbage time against a guy who's coming back from an injury is a field day? Again, look at what caused the fourth quarter to be garbage time.

[edgar]

On a bright note, Novak gets some time on the floor.

[ElNono]

Not enough defense to make up for the lack of offense... on top of that, terrible ball handling

[tdunk21]

turnovers....

[Obstructed_View]

Not enough defense to make up for the lack of offense... on top of that, terrible ball handling

Points off turnovers were ridiculous. Hard to play defense well enough to make up for that.

[Warlord23]

Uh, not having a point guard is probably higher on the list.

How I'd love to have seen Jacque Vaughn on the Spurs bench tonight.

[gospursgojas]

Spurs weakness is that they don't have their starting PG/argubly best player tonight.

THAT IS ALL.

[GrandeDavid]

Speaking of small forward, I'm not sure we have a starter anymore. Jefferson has been that poor and irrelevant.

[edgar]

Losing this game couldn't have helped the brewer situation.

[xellos88330]

Actually George Hill was the best player on the Grizzlies tonight. He has been here long enough to know how to run this team. He looked like a deer in headlights against the trap tonight. Reminded me a bit of Beno Udrih in game 4 of the 2005 Finals. He was a walking turnover tonight.

I hate to be this critical of the man, but he played like he had no clue what he was doing out there.

[edgar]

The grizzlies were running shooting layups on us all night! Surely others could have done more

[xellos88330]

Take away at least half of the turnovers/points off turnovers, and the Spurs would have been right there. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Lesson (hopefully) learned.

[xellos88330]

The grizzlies were running shooting layups on us all night! Surely others could have done more

Who can defend against it when the ball is turned over in the backcourt?

[Obstructed_View]

How I'd love to have seen Jacque Vaughn on the Spurs bench tonight.

Actually, he was.

[Obstructed_View]

Take away at least half of the turnovers/points off turnovers, and the Spurs would have been right there. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Lesson (hopefully) learned.

I think they were -21 on points off turnovers.

[Warlord23]

Actually, he was.

True, I meant in uniform

[VBM]

Spurs weakness is that they don't have their starting PG/argubly best player tonight.

THAT IS ALL.

But but but...Parker wasn't even an allstar! :hat

[xellos88330]

I am thinking that Pop should have went straight to a 4 down offense once the turnovers became an issue in the first half. It might have made the Grizzlies less likely to put so much pressure out on the perimeter.

[Warlord23]

The other (comparatively minor) suckage that got lost in George Hill's virtuoso performance was RJ inbounding the ball from the sideline. Let's hope this is an isolated case, but the guy just wasn't able to throw it in with any confidence.

[realtimmyfan]

I feel so sad after watching this game.

[scottspurs]

Spurs weakness is their defense. Gonna be an embarrassing exit in the playoffs if they don't fix the D

[SouthTexasRancher]

We definitely need to get a defense. Everybody in the league has had a career game against the Spurs this season. Especially Point Guards and PF/C's. Ain't no way in hell that this Spurs team beats the Lakers in the WCF's or the Heat in the Finals. We be a teeny tiny team. Like a bunch of midgets out there playing in the world of Wilt The Stilt. If the game was ankle biting we'd kick ass. :ihit

[SenorSpur]

Hill did indeed look lost. He almost looked like a rookie, getting his first start. It's almost like he regressed for this game. By now, we know there is a difference between the road Hill and the home Hill. I'm looking forward to seeing what type of effort and production he throws out during TP's absence.

Speaking of TP's absence, that wasn't the only reason the Spurs lost this game. As others have stated, the turnovers and poor defense were disturbing. But so was the manner in which the Grizz "ate up" the Spurs bigs, in the paint. Same old story. The same fundamental weaknesses that have been exposed by certain opposing frontlines: Failing to box out, inability to challenge shots and defend the paint, rotation breakdowns. All those things have nothing, whatsoever, to do with the absence of Parker.

The sterling regular season record has masked these weaknesses. However, games like this serve as a reminder that those deficiencies are STILL there.

[spurtech09]

not having parker in the line-up has alot to do with this loss....gino is the only one that handles the ball very well...george hill is not good at the pg position...he should stick to sg

[cutewizard]

I feel so sad after watching this game.



me too

[cutewizard]

Hill did indeed look lost. He almost looked like a rookie, getting his first start. It's almost like he regressed for this game. By now, we know there is a difference between the road Hill and the home Hill. I'm looking forward to seeing what type of effort and production he throws out during TP's absence.

Speaking of TP's absence, that wasn't the only reason the Spurs lost this game. As others have stated, the turnovers and poor defense were disturbing. But so was the manner in which the Grizz "ate up" the Spurs bigs, in the paint. Same old story. The same fundamental weaknesses that have been exposed by certain opposing frontlines: Failing to box out, inability to challenge shots and defend the paint, rotation breakdowns. All those things have nothing, whatsoever, to do with the absence of Parker.

The sterling regular season record has masked these weaknesses. However, games like this serve as a reminder that those deficiencies are STILL there.



do you still think we can win it all this year??

coz now i am having second thoughts about our 5th title

[SenorSpur]

do you still think we can win it all this year??

coz now i am having second thoughts about our 5th title

I'm hopeful, but not confident.

As is always is, so many NBA games usually boil down to matchups. Unfortunately for the Spurs, the Grizz have two frontline players (Randolph and Gasol), who the Spurs are a bad matchup for them. Bonner and Blair become heavily exposed against these guys, causing the team to depend primarily on Duncan and Dice. Not a good situation.

That's why there is so much concern and discussion about a playoff matchup versus the Fakers. Obviously because they have more size, skill and ability.

[xmas1997]

Spurs weakness is their defense. Gonna be an embarrassing exit in the playoffs if they don't fix the D

I love my Spurs, but I am not a blind man.
I have been saying this all along, the Spurs have not yet played CONSISTENT defense, and if they don't, then they will not win the championship.
I am not bridge jumping, I am just being realistic.

[SenorSpur]

I love my Spurs, but I am not a blind man.
I have been saying this all along, the Spurs have not yet played CONSISTENT defense, and if they don't, then they will not win the championship.
I am not bridge jumping, I am just being realistic.

Very true.

The increased offensive output is fine and a good thing. However, we all know that the Spurs will only go as far as their defense will carry them. A point that Pop has been emphasizing all year.

We all know they're not the same defensive team they've been in year's past. From a skillset and talent standpoint, every Western conference playoff team has players with far more superior offensive skill. The Spurs margin of error on the defensive side is very slim. They can ill-afford to roll out poor effort and compound that with amassing costly turnovers.

[cutewizard]

yeah, we need someone like Prybilla then, or even that greek-whats-his-name

anyone on the frontline to help us

[polandprzem]

Spurs in trouble

Turnovers
Outrebound
No treys
Lack of penetration -> ball movenemnt -> motion O

[gilmor]

How can Manu only score 9 points in the absence of TP?

[Chomag]

I agree on those calling out the Spurs D. You can defend their D all you want but it's shown clear as day how weak the Spur's defence is. It is no where near what a championship contending team should be. IT seems like every player in the NBA has had a career night against the Spurs (exaggerating a bit) This also goes for the weak rebounding

Sure having Tp there to get the offence flowing might have been allot of help tonight, but that wont win you a series in the playoffs. Spurs better get a gut check and Clamp up on the defence or else all these regular season wins will just be fools gold.

Call me old fashioned but I still believe in the saying that "Offence wins the regular season, but defence wins championships" In the playoffs most teams will be shutting down all the easy things that you had on offence.

[tdunk21]

Spurs in trouble

Turnovers
Outrebound
No treys
Lack of penetration -> ball movenemnt -> motion O

and gave up too many 2nd chance points

[boutons_deux]

The difference between the Spurs lay-back defense and Grizz up-close defense was amazing.

Spurs perimeter players could barely pass the ball around because their defenders were all over them.

[Agloco]

I am the first to say, well this game doesn't matter when I know the Spurs didn't seem in sync with things or if its against a non playoff team. But the Grizzlies are a dangerous team and not a team to take lightly. They are our 1st round playoff opponent most likely.

Shall I remind you all that Marc Gasol was ejected?

Soooooo, why did you start this thread again? :wtf

[Agloco]

I love my Spurs, but I am not a blind man.
I have been saying this all along, the Spurs have not yet played CONSISTENT defense, and if they don't, then they will not win the championship.
I am not bridge jumping, I am just being realistic.

Good point, and one that I've been thinking about as well for quite some time. As I argue with friends about whether or not this is truly the best team the Spurs have fielded to date, I always come back to this nagging issue. I think that when it's all said and done, that the Spurs will be knocked off as a result of a defensive goose egg at some point.

[hater]

Matt Bonner starting to look like Matt Bonner of old :pctoss

getting raped by anyone in an opponent jersey

[George Gervin's Afro]

The main weakness of the Spurs is that they play soft sometimes. When they do they are run out of the gym. I'm not looking forward to the Friday and Sunday games...

[SenorSpur]

The main weakness of the Spurs is that they play soft sometimes. When they do they are run out of the gym. I'm not looking forward to the Friday and Sunday games...

That's a great point worth some discussion. Personally, I think that because the Spurs are such a cerebral team, and one that relies of precise execution, instead of stunning athleticism, it seems they do demonstrate a tendency for what can appear to be soft play. Especially when they face a very aggressive opponent, they don't always seem to match that aggression.

When their heads are not in the game, it seems their basketball fundamentals and attention-to-detail also suffers. We see this manifest itself in a lot different ways, like the rash of unforced turnovers, sloppy passes and various offensive and defensive breakdowns. These miscues often tend to "spur" the opponent and shift the momentum in favor of the opponent.

To counter it, sometimes a team requires a spark. A vicious dunk, a key steal or a stunning block can go a long way to shift that momentum back in your favor. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen with the Spurs. Most times, the Spurs must methodically wear their opponent down and out-execute them to win.

The Spurs are never going to dominate opponents with superior athleticism or quickness. This team is talented, but is does have it's defensive flaws. As such, their margin of error is very slim and they don't always have the luxury of being able to survive a piss-poor effort. Therefore, it's essential that they have the right mindset and the right amount of focus, attention and level of effort. Fortunately, we've not seen very many lapses for long periods this season, as we have in years past. That's why they've been so successful up to this point.

[polandprzem]

and gave up too many 2nd chance points

Well yea - defense is a whole another topic


I mean spurs really are not gonna win shhh if they are not gonna be hustlig all over the floor on D. They simply do not have weapon in size or athleticism [like many here mentioned].
So they need to play scrappy and bit every inch of the floor. Go for the steal and close passing lanes as quick as possible.
Take a look at the first spurs lakers game this season. That is the only way we can beat team like LA.
We definitely won't be rebounding like we want and we won't protect the rim like we would like to. We need to win battle on the backcourt

[Agloco]

That's a great point worth some discussion. Personally, I think that because the Spurs are such a cerebral team, and one that relies of precise execution, instead of stunning athleticism, it seems they do demonstrate a tendency for what can appear to be soft play. Especially when they face a very aggressive opponent, they don't always seem to match that aggression.

When their heads are not in the game, it seems their basketball fundamentals and attention-to-detail also suffers. We see this manifest itself in a lot different ways, like the rash of unforced turnovers, sloppy passes and various offensive and defensive breakdowns. These miscues often tend to "spur" the opponent and shift the momentum in favor of the opponent.

To counter it, sometimes a team requires a spark. A vicious dunk, a key steal or a stunning block can go a long way to shift that momentum back in your favor. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen with the Spurs. Most times, the Spurs must methodically wear their opponent down and out-execute them to win. If they don't execute or if there is l

The Spurs are never going to dominate opponents with superior athleticism or quickness. This team is talented, but is does have it's defensive flaws. As such, their margin of error is very slim and they don't always have the luxury of being able to survive a piss-poor effort. Therefore, it's essential that they have the right mindset and the right amount of focus, attention and level of effort. Fortunately, we've not seen very many lapses for long periods this season, as we have in years past. That's why they've been so successful up to this point.

TIA or an absence seizure Senor? :lol

Just messing with you. Good post, but you did lose me there......

[SenorSpur]

TIA or an absence seizure Senor? :lol

Just messing with you. Good post, but you did lose me there......

Brain fart...:lol